The hills of Chaukori

Some of the women from backward caste are still not able to make the ends meet and mostly dependent upon the upper cast to provide them work as daily labourer to earn 50 -100 rupees.

Meena Nagarkoti, was one of the vibrant women in the group. She was a mother of two boys and her husband worked in Delhi to earn for the family. To get some extra income, Meena undertook weaving and the income helped to pay her rent. Her husband remains in Delhi and very rarely comes home at times for more than a year also, as he can’t really afford to take leave from work and also the fare to travel often to home. The kids and wife miss out on a family life, almost living on their own.

Meena Nagarkoti, was one of the vibrant women in the group. She was a mother of two boys and her husband worked in Delhi to earn for the family. To get some extra income, Meena undertook weaving and the income helped to pay her rent. Her husband remains in Delhi and very rarely comes home at times for more than a year also, as he can’t really afford to take leave from work and also the fare to travel often to home. The kids and wife miss out on a family life, almost living on their own.

Laxmi, opened a small shop which sold small articles and trinkets required by women and toys and such articles. She received scholar-ship for the education of one of her kids and for the other one used her earnings.

Babita Mehra, is the force behind the HEF. She is the coordinator of Himalayan Naari. Her husband was employed in Army and due to his medical condition he couldn’t continue and left the army some years back. Babita then took charge of her family and got her son educated. Babita now manages all the operations and coordination of Himalayan Naari. Her ability to speak English and work on computer has made it easier to receive orders, distribute jobs and communicate with HEF. HEF hopes to train more women in other fields such as photography, computer education etc., inspired by the skills learned/developed by Babita

Bhavna Dhanik, 21 is the youngest in the group; she studies as well as engages in weaving in her spare time. She saves the money she earns from weaving for her wedding. Marriages are a very costly affair especially for the bride’s family.

I also visited GeetaBhoriyal, who had delivered a baby boy just a couple of days before. She was the mother of two girls aged 12 and 10; however a son is always welcome and a desire for a male child by one and all seems a very common phenomenon in the region. Some of the women in the process ended up having 5 or more children searching for the elusive male child.

Some of the women who hails from the interior areas, live here in rented accommodation, to ensure that they can afford to send their children to school. I met Dhana, a mother of two. Her elder daughter Kareena was extremely shy and left the room as soon as she saw me. Later, I found out she was born differently abled. She always hid her hand in a shawl or behind the back, as revealed by her mother. Kareena was going through a crisis of confidence and avoided exposing herself to others. Her mother worried about her disability and all the more because she was a girl. I told Kareena how beautiful she was and I wished soon she learnt to overcome her misgivings about her look and develop confidence in herself and her ability to work like others and face the world boldly.

Cover picture

Women meet in a weekly meeting for the allotment of work and discuss their work issues